Senate President Sherwin Gatchalian has raised concerns over the widespread use of social media among Filipino children below the minimum age required by major platforms.
Citing Philippine Statistics Authority data, Gatchalian said 80.76% of Filipino Internet users aged 11 and 87.64% of those aged 12 have social media accounts. The proportion was 72.86% among 10-year-olds and 93.72% among 13-year-olds.
Facebook requires users to be at least 13 years old, but the figures indicate that many younger children continue to access social media platforms.
“Alam natin na maraming naidudulot na kabutihan ang teknolohiya. Ngunit may kaakibat din itong mga negatibong epekto sa ating mga kabataan, lalo na kung ang paggamit ng mga gadget at iba pang teknolohiya ay hindi namomonitor at hindi nabibigyan ng wastong gabay,” Gatchalian said during a Senate Committee on Basic Education hearing.
Gatchalian has filed Senate Bill No. 2066, or the proposed Social Media Safety for Children Act, which seeks to prohibit children below 16 from using social media.
He also filed Senate Bill No. 627, or the proposed Electronic Gadget-Free Schools Act, which would ban smartphones and other electronic devices during class hours in public and private schools.
Separately, Gatchalian said the Senate is publishing documents and filings related to the Duterte impeachment proceedings on its website to give the public direct access to official information.
“Sisiguraduhin natin na lahat ng dokumento at ebidensya ay makikita ng publiko dahil naka-upload na ang mga ito sa Senate website,” he said.
Gatchalian said the online repository would allow Filipinos to examine the evidence themselves instead of relying solely on information circulated through social media.
“We invite the public to scrutinize, read, and understand the proceedings for themselves. We realize that while we, at the upper chamber, sit as senator-judges, the ultimate judges of this impeachment proceeding are the Filipino people,” he said.
He said he had instructed the Senate Secretariat to provide the resources needed to upload documents and filings promptly as they are introduced.
